Michigan green bank could be a model for the Biden administration

FINANCE: Michigan’s decade-old green bank that’s helped spur private investment in clean energy projects could be a model as the incoming Biden administration considers the financing option on a national scale. (Energy News Network)

CLIMATE: A Wisconsin climate change task force report includes recommendations for clean energy jobs programs and a statewide office of environmental justice to ensure an equitable energy transition. (Wisconsin Public Radio)

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OHIO: A Republican state lawmaker says a law providing subsidies for two nuclear plants at the center of a bribery scandal should be repealed: ​“The fact is these plants are no longer needed.” (Toledo Blade)

COAL: Nearly all of Indiana’s 15 coal ash storage sites have harmed nearby groundwater while the state lacks coordinated plans to control the problem, according to a Hoosier Environmental Council report. (Indiana Environmental Reporter)

RENEWABLES:
• An Illinois lawmaker warns that the funding cliff has arrived for renewable energy projects that qualify for state incentives and calls for legislators to take policy action. (Southern Illinoisan)
• A local Farm Bureau chapter in Illinois tells residents to not rush into contracts if approached by developers of major wind or solar projects. (WCIA)

PIPELINES:
• Enbridge executives say in an earnings call that the company is building in ​“additional risk premium” to large pipeline projects that face increasing uncertainty as governments transition to clean energy. (Financial Post)
• The Biden administration could affect the outcome of five major pipeline projects across the U.S. while influencing oil and gas developments. (E&E News, subscription)

UTILITIES: Xcel Energy Chairman and CEO Ben Fowke is named executive of the year by Utility Dive for his push to make the company carbon neutral. (Utility Dive)

WIND: A central Illinois county remains the top wind producer in the state, collecting more than $53 million in property tax payments from projects since 2007. (Bloomington Pantagraph)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: General Motors says the first orders of its all-electric Hummer quickly sold out after the vehicle was unveiled in October, and testing is underway in metro Detroit. (Detroit News)

NUCLEAR: Federal regulators began public meetings this week on the planned ownership transfer of a southwestern Michigan nuclear plant. (Michigan Radio)

POLICY: Tribes in South Dakota, Kansas and Minnesota were among more than a dozen selected across the U.S. for federal grants supporting energy sovereignty. (Tribal Business News)

COMMENTARY: Criminal convictions aren’t enough to settle the investigation into Ohio’s power plant bailout law; what’s needed is a broader effort at ​“rooting out corruption in state government,” an editorial board says. (Toledo Blade)